1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to printed circuit products and processes and, more particularly, to a printed circuit intermediate product that is useful in the production or modification of printed circuits, and in processes therefor.
2. The Prior Art
Ordinarily, a printed circuit board is clad on one or both sides with copper in which are chemically etched conductor patterns and to which are soldered electronic components that are carried by the printed circuit board. In the case of complex circuits, multilayer printed circuits have been assembled from interleaved conducting and insulating laminates. Typically, the printed circuit board is provided with holes into which leads from the electrical components are soldered for electrical connection to the conductors and mechanical connection to the board. When circuit changes are made in electronic equipment, it often is less expensive to modify existing circuit boards than to replace them with new circuit boards. Such modifications typically involve drilling holes to sever selected existing electrical connections and to mount new electronic components and adding new conductors either by manual wiring or by printing on old or new insulating strata. In the past, such conventional modification procedures have involved shipment of relatively bulky circuit boards between the equipment site and a circuit board processing plant, during a period of time in which the equipment might remain idle. Such prior art procedures have been unwieldy, time consuming, and susceptible to avoidable errors. The present invention contemplates new products and processes, by which superior construction and modification are feasible. Ultimate products incorporating circuit laminates of the present invention enable the use of a "bed of nails" testing fixture. These processes are faster than prior manual installation of discrete wires because they involve a single parallel step, rather than a series of sequential steps.